Imperfect Heroes
by Myriah Kamm
Summary: A young 18-year-old girl is living in a time when the Justice League is no more, and metahumans run rampant, destroying every human thing in their path. Azalia Gabriel goes back in time to prevent her world from coming to be. Will she succeed?
1. Prologue

_**Imperfect Heroes**_

**Prologue**

_Ka-BOOM!_

The explosion rocked the small shelter housing the handful of human refugees. Rocks broke off from the ceiling and crashed around the young men and women—the last of a dying race.

"Stand your ground." Twenty-seven-year-old William Gabriel stood at the front of the group of young men protecting the women. "Those freaks out there think they're better than us. Let's prove them wrong!"

His speech drew an uproar from the small resistance, but it was soon drowned out by another explosion. A large crack found its way up the wall, and William knew the next eruption would break it down.

"We are the last of our people," he continued, pulling a laser gun from its holster at his side. "Let's show those metas just what humans are made of! Prepare for battle, my brothers!"

He quickly entered the group of women and children at the center of the shelter. A young woman, about eighteen years old, ran to him, and he held her in a tight hug. Another young woman who had been standing with her approached William.

"And how's my dear sister?" he asked the young woman in his arms. "How are you doing, Azalia?"

"Are you going to stop the metas this time, Will?" Azalia's bright blue eyes shined at him as she smiled.

"Yeah, I'll stop them." He kissed her cheek and then turned to the other young woman.

"I'm worried, Will," she said quietly. "I don't like this."

"I don't like it either, Philana, but it can't be helped. The metas aren't going to stop just because we don't like it. They want us all dead. There's nothing we're going to be able to do to change that."

"I just…what if we lose you, like we lost Dad?"

"You won't lose me," William assured her. "It'll take a lot more than a few metas to get rid of me. Now, where'd Alex go?"

"Right here, Will." The twenty-two year old man stepped up to the small group.

"There you are." Will brushed the young man's dirty blonde hair from his face, and looked him in the eye. "I want you to look after Azalia once the fighting starts."

"But Will, you said I could help you! Why do I have to sit back and watch _again_?"

"Someone has to take care of Azalia. It's a much more honorable job, Alex. She's more important than the fighting. From the moment she was born, Dad said she would amount to great things. Dick said it, too, from time to time. And I believe both of them. Somehow, she's going to be able to help make this world right. She's going to figure out a way to stop this fighting. If anything happens to either Philana or myself, you have to be the one to guide her. You have to watch over her. You are the one who will keep her safe from the metas. She and you are the only ones who can save us. Dad said it himself every time he watched you play with her when you were younger. You two will one day save us all."

Alex nodded slowly, still disappointed, but hiding it well. "Come on, Azalia, let's get back there. We wouldn't want to make Will mad now, would we?"

Azalia nodded, although she could hear the resentment in Alex's voice, and followed him back to the crowd of women and children. She turned back to look at her older brother and sister as she left. "Good luck, Will, Philana. And be careful."

"Don't you worry, Azalia," William replied. "We'll be careful."

_Ka-BOOM! CCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK!_

The explosion shook the small shelter, tearing through the wall and roof as if they were only paper. The women and children backed up against the remaining wall, with Alex and Azalia near the front of the group in case they were needed. Outburst—a young metahuman with the power to create explosions at will—stood just beyond the crumbling wall, a wicked smirk on his face. Behind him was a mass of countless metahumans; among them were Lady Midnight, daughter of the Shade; Narcissus, son of Poison Ivy; Clayface; Mordred, son of Morgaine LeFay, now a sorcerer himself; Apollyon, a young man claiming to be the earthly incarnation of Satan himself; Inferno, daughter of Fire; Ice II, son of the original; Cyclone and Typhoon, twin speedsters, son and daughter of Wally West; Hurricane, a young meta female with control over the weather; Nucleus, a man with powers concerning nuclear, radiant, and electromagnetic energies; and a whole host of other metahumans.

"This is it!" Will yelled, raising his gun. "Let's teach these metas a lesson! Let's show them who the real masters of this planet are!"

The battle was mostly one-sided, the metas having a huge advantage over the humans. The laser guns that Will and Alex had created as defense did little damage against most of the metas, if there was even a chance to use them. The majority of the humans fell within minutes.

"All right, everyone, let's move!" Alex was in charge of directing the women and the few children to safety in times such as this. He led them from the battle zone along a path he and Will had plotted earlier.

Azalia took up the rear of the group, looking back at the battle while she made sure the rest of the company got out of there all right. She watched her older brother and sister fight the metahumans valiantly along with the other humans, but she knew their chances of survival were slim to none in this battle. With so many metas gathered for this attack, the remaining human resistance stood little luck of coming out of the fight alive. With her talents, she also knew she would be a great help against the metas. But no one could ever know about her "gifts". So she turned back to follow the other escaping humans.

"Not so fast, girly." A hand clapped over Azalia's mouth while another strong steel hand wrapped its flexible fingers around her neck. She strained to look back at her captor, and swallowed hard. It was Adamant, a metahuman with the right half of his body made of steel and the left half a normal, fleshly body. The hand around her throat tightened, and Azalia knew she had no chance of escaping.

"That's right, doll," Adamant sneered. "There's no use in fighting me. You won't get away. And I'm gonna squeeze the air right out of ya. Just try and scream. Hehe…" His grip tightened even more around her throat, and she could feel her neck starting to crack in his strong hand.

"Let her go, Adamant." Azalia heard the powering up of a laser gun and smiled in spite of herself at the familiar sound of Will's voice.

"Why should I?" the meta demanded. "That little toy of yours ain't gonna hurt me!" His hand clenched around Azalia's neck, and she somehow managed to cry out in pain.

"Let her go, now, and I just might let you live."

"Try me, _human_. If you shoot, you'll hit her, not me. Besides…do you actually think you can kill _me_, the great Adamant?"

"You're so full of yourself." Will pulled the trigger, and before Adamant could react, the laser went directly through his heart. The villain stood there for a few minutes, his eyes wide and glassy, before toppling over on top of Azalia. Will hurried over and rolled the meta onto his back, slowly prying his steel hand from his sister's throat. Once free, Azalia coughed, gratefully taking in much needed air.

"…thanks, Will…" she said hoarsely, looking up at him.

"Hey, I'm your brother, right?" He smiled, helping her to her feet. "I could never let anything happen to you."

"Maybe you should be more worried about _yourself_, then, William." As the young man turned toward the voice, he was hit square in the chest with a beam of magical energy. Mordred smiled, shooting more blasts at him, until he fell to the ground, motionless. Azalia's eyes widened as the young sorcerer shot one final magical ray at Will, this one causing him to disappear entirely.

"I guess he wasn't as hard to beat as the boss said, huh, Mordred?" Azalia turned around to find herself face-to-face with Apollyon, who grabbed her arms and lifted her off the ground until she was eye-level with him. "My, you _are_ a nice one, aren't you? Maybe we'll just have a little play session before"

"Honestly, you men." A black aura surrounded Azalia and she was pulled from Apollyon's grasp. Lady Midnight guided the shroud of darkness enveloping the young human girl toward her. "The boss wanted her alive and _unharmed_, Apollyon. You are _so_ immature."

"Thanks, babe," he said sadistically. "C'mon, you know you love me."

The mud near them started to move, sloshing and stretching until it rose up into the form of Clayface. "Stop it, all of you. Give me the human girl."

Lady Midnight complied, releasing Azalia from the black cloak that surrounded her. The young girl fell into Clayface's muddy grasp. She struggled to get free, but the more she fought, the deeper she sunk into Clayface's hands.

"You're not going anywhere, girl. I'm takin' you to the boss."

"That's where you'd be wrong." A laser beam hit Clayface, and Azalia felt the clay around her beginning to bake and harden. She craned her neck to get a better look at her savior, and her eyes fell upon Philana. The older woman had the small hand-held laser set on the heat beam, obvious by the way Clayface was baking so quickly. She also had another, larger laser which the trained on the group of metas surrounding Clayface.

"You can't get us all, human," Mordred snapped confidently, raising his hand to attack.

"Don't _move_." Philana shot at his hand with her laser, barely missing it. His hand dropped back to his side. "Back away from Clayface. All of you." The metas obeyed, taking a few steps back. Keeping her laser aimed at them, Philana slowly approached the statue that was Clayface. Using the butt of the hand-held laser, she hit his arm repeatedly, until it was nothing more than gravel at her feet. She then helped Azalia from inside the statue and supported her until she regained her equilibrium.

"Philana…they…they killed…"

"I know, Azalia." She trained the two lasers at the group of metas, her eyes narrowed. "And they're going to _pay_."

"What can the two of you possibly do?" It was Lady Midnight who spoke up. "You're just _humans_."

"Is that right?" Philana started to power up the larger laser. "We're 'just humans', is that it? Care to try your luck against me?" She aimed the laser, now nearly at full power, at the young metahuman female as a small smile crept across her face. "Say 'Goodbye'."

"Goodbye." Tigris, a pupil of Cheetah's who was tiger-like rather than cheetah-like, sliced through Philana's back, causing her arm to jerk up as she shot, the beam missing Lady Midnight, and she fell to her knees. The catlike meta then jumped with feline agility over the human, landing in front of her. She licked her lips just before sinking her teeth into Philana's neck, her powerful jaws crushing the spine easily.

Azalia, although shocked and sickened, took off running before the metas could react. She ran as fast as she could, the rush of adrenaline carrying her farther and faster than she could have normally gone. Her legs carried her along an unknown path, a path to the place her brothers and sister had always told her to go if she was ever in any trouble: home.

It had been years since she'd been home, but Azalia remembered the way like it had been just yesterday. Tears fell down her cheeks the whole way there, the horrible scenes she had just witnessed playing themselves over and over in her mind as she ran. It merely caused her to run faster in a futile attempt to outrun her fear and guilt. The miles passed by within what seemed like seconds, and she was soon approaching her destination.

"Azalia!" His voice seemed to come from nowhere, but Azalia knew where Alex was. She slowed to a jog as she neared a battered grandfather clock and pushed it aside, heading down the staircase hidden behind it. Many odd objects were littered about the large cavern: a half-destroyed giant penny; the remains of what once was a large model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex; shattered glass cases holding shredded costumes; a huge, nearly destroyed super-computer; and a broken down black car. The cave retained little of its former glory.

"Alex…they…they didn't…oh, God…"

"Come on, Azalia. We've got work to do." He stepped out of the shadows of the cavern, revealing a long plasma burn on the left side of his face.

"You're hurt!"

"I know. But that's not our biggest problem. No one else made it, Azalia. No one else. We're all that's left." Alex lifted a small medium-sized pack up onto a small tabletop, setting it next to a row of supplies. Weapons, food, extra clothes…everything.

"Uh, Alex?"

"It's time. I'm sending you back." He tossed her a wristwatch and got back to the packing.

Azalia put the watch on, inspecting it carefully. It just looked like an ordinary watch. Nothing special about it. That is, until she pressed the small button on the left side of it. Then, a hologram screen shot up from the watch, demanding a date, time, and place of arrival. Apparently, the watch had already been set; 25 years prior to the present date, in the middle of what used to be Metropolis. The time: in the middle of one of the Justice League's biggest battles.

"You can't be serious," she whispered, looking back up at Alex. "Already? You're going to send me back to do this now?"

Alex stopped packing again, sighed, and turned to Azalia. "We're the only ones left. No one else made it. This might be the only chance we get." He grabbed a couple of small bundles and slipped them into the pack, along with a small pile of extra clothes.

"Are you sure this'll work?" Azalia looked down at the watch on her wrist skeptically. She knew her brother was somewhat of a genius when it came to these things, but could a plain-looking wristwatch really take her to the past?

"It'll work, trust me." Alex gathered a few more weapons and heirlooms for Azalia's pack. He looked into the bag, making a mental check of everything in it. "Now, have I forgotten anything?"

"I think you've got everything in there but the kitchen sink," Azalia joked, smiling at her older brother. "I'll be fine, Alex. Really. You don't have to keep worrying so much."

Alex smiled back, closing the small bag and handing her a belt. "That has all the weapons on it you should need right away. If you run into any trouble, you know how to use it." He then handed her the pack. "There's enough food in here for a week or two, and extra clothes, and…all of the things Dad gave to us."

Azalia fingered the red jewel on her necklace absently when he mentioned their father. "Did you put the picture in there, too?"

"Yeah, it's all in here. You remember the mission, right?"

"I prevent the destruction of the Justice League," she replied, determination crossing her face. "I gain their trust, join their ranks, and prevent their deaths."

"Right. Your best bet as a confidant will be Martian Manhunter. He'll be able to read your mind to find out about your life and everything. But whatever you do, don't let him know the details of the League's demise. You have to keep that to yourself."

"But what about the telepathic block? Won't that prevent him from reading my mind?"

"There's a way to control the block," Alex assured her. "To lower it enough for him to read your mind. I've never tried it, but I know you can do it, Azalia. You're the strongest of any of us. If you can't do it, no one can."

Azalia smiled a bit at her brother's optimism. "I'll do my best. You can count on that…" She sighed slightly, thinking of what her experiences in the past would be like. "I can't wait to see Dad again…"

"About that…you're going to want to be discreet about him being your dad and all. First of all, it could change the fact that he actually has us. And second, he probably wouldn't believe it, anyway. Don't go broadcasting who you really are. There are reasons Will changed our last name to Gabriel after Dad died. The only person you should tell is Martian Manhunter. As I said before, he should be your confidant. You can trust him not to tell anyone else."

"Did you know him, Alex?" The question was an innocent one, like a question you would expect from a young child. Alex smiled at his four-years-junior sister and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"None of us really knew him, except for Dad," he replied quietly. "You'll have a lot more privileges than the rest of us ever had. You're very lucky, Azzy."

"You know I hate it when you call me that," Azalia said, giving her brother a playful look.

"I know, I know. And you should really get going. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Let's get this over with." She closed her eyes in a moment of silent prayer, and then gave Alex a quick hug. "Wish me luck."

"You won't need it," he assured her, giving her a knowing smile. "You'll succeed without luck. God speed."

The eighteen-year-old gave him one final smile, put on the small backpack filled with her things, and then entered a code into the watch on her wrist. In a bright flash of light, she was gone. For a few moments, Alexander Gabriel stared at the spot where she had been standing, the smile fading from his face.

"Good luck, little sister," he whispered to the emptiness around him. "Good luck…for all our sakes."

"Well, Alexander." He felt the muzzle of a plasma gun at the back of his head. "What a surprise to find _you_ here. Give me one."

"One…one what?" the young man asked fearfully.

"I'm going to follow her. Give me a watch. _Now_."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

There was another bright flash of light, and Azalia found herself in a dark alley. She smiled and looked down at her watch.

"Wow," she whispered, "this thing really works. You rule, Alex. Now…to get this mission started."

The young woman could hear the sounds of fighting nearby and assessed the situation. She knew which villains the members of the Justice League of America were fighting at this exact time and place. This was one of their biggest battles, against a specific group of super villains: Prometheus, Dr. Polaris, Bane, and Deathstroke. The outcome was obvious, of course; the Justice League would win this fight. But Azalia knew why Alex had chosen this time to send her back to: the victory came at a price. Many civilians would be killed before the heroes would be able to stop the four villains. This, in turn, would damage the credibility of heroes, which would eventually lead to the metahuman rebellion that would become Azalia's world. This very battle was the one that would begin what Azalia was trying to put a stop to.

Machine gun fire caught her ears as Deathstroke ran into her field of vision. His weapon was aimed at the rooftops, his back to her. Following his gaze, Azalia caught sight of a shadow running across the roof of a nearby building just ahead of the bullets.

"Batman…"

Deathstroke turned toward her at the sound of her whisper and smirked. He ran over to her, got behind her, restrained her, and pulled a knife from its sheath to hold it to her throat.

"Well, well…look what I've found…" He turned again at the sound of boots hitting the pavement behind him to be met by an icy glare.

"Let her go, Deathstroke. Your fight is with me."

"No, you're mistaken. _Your_ fight's with _him_."

Before Batman had time to react, he was in Bane's grasp. The huge bulk of a man held him tightly, crushing his bones, and no matter how much Batman struggled, he couldn't break free.

"You remember this, don't you?" Bane laughed, lifting Batman over his head. "Now it's time for the pain."

"I don't think so." Azalia lifted her foot and kicked Deathstroke hard in the shin, causing him to drop his knife, but he held onto her tight. But that was all she really needed. The young woman swung her head back, breaking her captor's nose. He released her to clutch his face, and she hit him square in the chest with a palm strike, shattering his sternum. Deathstroke staggered back and fell to his knees, gasping for breath with one hand clutching his burning chest, the other his bleeding nose.

Without skipping a beat, the girl spun around and used that momentum to deliver a strong side kick to Bane's stomach. The villain doubled over, dropping Batman. But the girl still didn't let up. She delivered several precise blows, hitting pressure points exactly. Bane collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Straightening up and dusting herself off, the young woman turned to where Bane had dropped Batman to find him gone. She looked around, searching the shadows, but couldn't see him anywhere. Then, turning back to Bane, she nearly jumped, finding herself staring at the Dark Knight's chest. She looked up at his face to meet the cold glare that would have caused most criminals to run crying for their mommies.

"Who are you?"

"A friend."

"Right. Well forgive me if I don't throw myself at your feet in gratitude. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help."

"I don't think so. You're not going to be much help."

Suddenly, she pulled a dagger from its sheath at her side and whipped it out in front of Batman's face. Only when he heard the sound of metal hitting metal did he realize she wasn't trying to hurt him. A small dart dropped to the ground just in front of him after hitting the shiny blade.

"Well, well," a voice said from the shadows. Azalia noticed the glint of light bouncing off metal. "Batman. Who's your resourceful little girlfriend?"

Batman growled. "Prometheus. Surrender now and you won't get hurt."

That elicited a laugh from the villain. "You think you can hurt me? You can't. You may have found a flaw in my system last time, but no more. I'm perfect now."

Azalia listened silently, unnoticed as she pulled a small crossbow from the belt at her waist. She pointed it at Prometheus' neck and fired, the small dart flying at him noiselessly. It connected, easily slicing through the armored lining, and sunk into his flesh. For a moment, he stared at her, wide-eyed, and then toppled over, unconscious. Batman turned to the young woman and glared at her.

"Chloroform dart," she said coolly. "He should be out for a few hours." Returning the crossbow to her belt, she looked at Batman silently, waiting for him to say something.

But he didn't. His eyes narrowed slightly and he turned. Azalia knew that this was how he was, this was his personality, how he treated everyone. But she still secretly hated it. She wished he'd talk to her…

"So, Dr. Polaris is running wild." She'd said it as a statement of fact rather than as a question. She was trying to get _some_ reaction out of him. Still, nothing. She sighed. "I can help you stop him, too."

Finally, the Dark Knight turned to her again. "Get out of here, kid. You're going to get yourself hurt."

Azalia crossed her arms over her chest, matching his glare perfectly. "I'm not going anywhere. Like I said, I'm here to help."

She watched as he set his jaw, his glare growing more intense. But still, she refused to move. Maybe if she showed him she was just as stubborn as he was, then he'd agree to let her stay. Of course, he could get pretty stubborn…

"Look, Batman…" she began again, rolling her eyes, "I'm staying whether you like it or not. You can't _make_ me leave."

His eyes narrowed. "You'd be surprised." His hand flew out to grab her arm, but was blocked by an all-too-familiar back-fist, just the kind he used; motions in a mix of judo, tae kwon do, and jujitsu. Suspicion marked his features.

"I can block anything you can dish out, Batman." Azalia smirked, reveling in the confidence in her own voice. "You're going to need my help."

"This isn't your fight. Stay out of it."

"Look, we can stand around here all day arguing, or we can help your friends with Dr. Polaris," the girl yawned. "Your choice. Personally, I don't care either way." She was trying to play the bored teenager part, but it wasn't going over so well…

Batman stared at her for a few more moments, as if considering her. Then he turned. "I don't have time for this." He pulled out his grappling hook and shot off to the roof of a nearby building, and lifted off the ground. Azalia watched him go, awe-struck.

"Well, Alex was right about one thing," she whispered to herself, reaching into her own belt for a grappling hook. "He's pretty darn stubborn." She shot the line after Batman, landing silently on the roof behind him. He was crouched low, looking out over the city. Azalia would have waited for him, but she wanted to prove herself; she retracted the grappling hook and shot the line to the next building, not waiting for a reaction from the Dark Knight before swinging through the air to land on the roof. She looked out over the city, catching sight of what she was looking for.

Two blocks away, Dr. Polaris was giving the other Leaguers a run for their money. The only thing protecting them was the red ball of plastic around them: Plastic Man. Azalia nodded quickly to herself. When she spotted Dr. Polaris, her hand immediately went for the crossbow attached to her belt while her other hand reached into one of the small slots and pulled out a single small dart. Azalia loaded the dart into the crossbow, aimed carefully, and fired. The miniature missile shot through the air with only the faintest whistling, but it was loud enough that it was practically daring Dr. Polaris to look in its direction and stop it.

And he did look, but too late. The dart found its mark in the side of his neck and emptied its load of enhanced anesthesia. The villain fell to the ground, unconscious.

Plastic Man released the other Leaguers from the protective ball he'd made himself into and looked around. Azalia decided it was as good a time as any to make her first move. She jumped down from the roof she was standing on, catching the air with her cape to slow her descent, and landed with a forward roll to slow her momentum. The young heroine then slowly stood up in front of the Leaguers, standing just behind Dr. Polaris' unconscious body.

"Hey, who's the kid?" Plastic Man asked, looking around at the other Leaguers for an answer. When all they did in reply was shake their heads, they all looked at Azalia again. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped at a harsh voice behind her.

"That's what I'd like to know." Batman's voice was so close, Azalia judged he was only a few inches away from her. "Who are you?"

She refused to show any weakness, shock, or nervousness when she replied. "My name's Azalia Gabriel. I'm an eighteen-year-old graduate from Harvard University with a degree in modern arts and science. I also majored in martial arts instruction, English, Latin, and Greek." She turned to look at Batman. "Enough information for you, detective?"

His eyes were narrowed, his lips pressed together tightly. She knew she'd gotten to him. Good.

"Hey, thanks for the help, kid," Plastic Man said, breaking the strained silence. "How'd you beat Dr. Polaris like that?"

"A plastic dart with my own sleeping formula in it," she replied, turning back to the Leaguers. "He'll be out for a couple of hours at least. Same with Prometheus. As for Bane and Deathstroke, the former will wake up with quite a headache, and the latter will be in need of medical attention when you get him to prison. They'll both be out for an hour or two."

"You defeated all four of them on your own?" The Flash was obviously quite shocked. When she nodded, he continued. "Gosh, you'd give Batman a run for his money."

The vigilante grunted from behind her, making her smirk. "Thanks, Flash. Anything else I can help you guys with?" She looked around at the faces before her: Superman, the most beloved hero of this time; Wonder Woman, a symbol of truth and women's rights; Plastic Man, the comic relief of the group; the Flash, the fastest man alive; Green Lantern, member of the crime-fighting group of the same name throughout the universe, stationed in Earth's sector; the Martian Manhunter, telepath and detective of sorts, very understanding thanks to his uniqueness on this planet; and finally, the Dark Knight standing behind her, cold, suspicious, and untrusting. These were the ones she had to save. These were the ones she was fighting for.

"What you can do is stop getting in our way." Batman brushed past her and headed for the Batwing, his cape flapping behind him. Azalia marveled at the gracefulness of his movements; he walked to smoothly, it was almost as if he was floating like some sort of black ghost. He slipped into the Batwing and took off, disappearing into the black night sky.

"Ah, don't worry about him," Green Lantern said, approaching Azalia and holding out a hand to shake. "He's like that with everyone. Thanks for your help."

Azalia took his hand and shook it with a smile. "No problem. But Batman's right. I wouldn't want to get in your way. I should get going, anyway." She turned to go, but stopped when a gentle hand touched her shoulder. Looking up at Superman, she couldn't help but be shocked. This was the Man of Steel, arguably the strongest man on Earth, and yet his touch was so gentle, so much like she remembered her dad's to be…and those caring blue eyes…and that understanding smile…

"You don't have to go because of Batman. We'd like to properly thank you."

"I appreciate that, but I've really got to…get back to my hotel. But thanks anyway. Oh, and Green Lantern? Watch yourself tomorrow." With that, she ran into a dark alley, disappearing from their sight.

"Azalia pulled out her grapple and used it to get back to the alley she dropped her pack in. She then made her way to the train station, changed out of her costume and into something casual, and bought a one-way ticket to Gotham City.

The train ride was a relatively short one. Azalia neither drank nor ate, and conversed with no one. She spent her time reading a red, leather-bound book that was actually rather plain-looking, but she was completely wrapped up in it. Only when the train came to a stop did she look up from her book. Standing up, she returned the book to her pack and got off the train.

Within minutes she reached a small grocery store, where she planned to stock up on supplies. But she never got the chance. Outside the store, she saw an elderly man struggling with each arm full of paper grocery bags.

"Excuse me, sir. You seem to be having a bit of trouble with those bags. Want some help?"

"Thank you, miss. I would greatly appreciate your assistance." He had a heavy British accent, and as Azalia got closer to him, she realized he was dressed in a butler's uniform. She took all the bags from him except one; he insisted that she not do all the work. Stopping next to a black Rolls Royce, the man loaded the groceries into it and then turned back to Azalia.

"Wow, nice car," she said with a smile. "Anything else I can do to help?"

"I believe I can handle things from here, miss…?"

"Azalia Gabriel."

"Miss Gabriel. Thank you for your help. Not many young adults would have taken the time to offer a helping hand to an old man."

"It was nothing. I'm glad I could help. And I don't want to be keeping you, so I'll get going. Nice meeting you, mister…hmm. I didn't ever get your name."

"Alfred Pennyworth." He smiled a bit and shook her hand.

"Mr. Pennyworth. That's a true British name if I've ever heard one. Well, it was nice meeting you, Mr. Pennyworth. Take care." She turned to leave, but stopped when Alfred touched her arm.

"Please, Miss Gabriel. Gotham City is a dangerous place after dark. I would be happy to give you a ride to your destination."

"I would, but I'm not exactly sure where I'm going yet. See, I'm from…out of town. I'll have to find a hotel or something."

"That is a rather unwise decision. The hotels here are mostly run by criminals. I'm quite sure Master Bruce would offer you a room at Wayne Manor, if you would care to come with me."

Azalia blinked. "…Wayne Manor? Bruce _Wayne_? Really?"

"Naturally. Now come along, I insist."

"I…I don't know…I don't want to be any trouble…"

"It's no trouble at all, I assure you." He opened the door for her. "Please, Miss Gabriel."

Azalia chewed her bottom lip uncertainly. What should she do? Yeah, Batman didn't trust her. And yeah, he'd probably get mad when he found out it was her. But she didn't care anymore. She was in this new place, this new world, where no one expected anything of her; shouldn't she get to have a little bit of fun and do what she wanted to do?

"All right, Mr. Pennyworth. If you insist." She got into the Rolls Royce, holding her pack in her lap as she buckled up and waited for the butler. He got in on the driver's side and started the car.

"Alfred, if you please, miss. I would appreciate if you would be slightly less formal. You are, after all, a young adult." He smiled broadly and started the Rolls Royce down the street, on its way outside of the city.

As the car rolled down the road, the two conversed. Azalia felt comfortable around Alfred, even though she had just met him. He was easy to talk to, as she was sure everyone found out. And he was so wise and intelligent…she hoped Alfred would help her when she met Mr. Wayne…

Before Azalia knew it, they had reached Wayne Manor. It was a huge mansion, dark and dismal in the night, but it had a familiarity about it that the young woman liked. In no time, she was helping Alfred carry the groceries to the front door.

"I'm sure Master Bruce will be happy to see you here. He doesn't meet many accomplished young women like yourself."

"Well, I hope you're not suggesting that I date him," Azalia laughed. "I think I'm a bit young."

She was surprised when Alfred laughed, as well. "I suppose you're right, naturally. But he'll be happy to meet you."

"Gosh, I hope so," she muttered under her breath as Alfred opened the door.

"Master Bruce? I have returned with the groceries…"

A tall man with black hair, deep blue eyes, and a five o'clock shadow came down the large staircase in the main hall wearing a bath robe. Even unshaven, it was obvious why he was the most eligible bachelor in the United States.

When Bruce Wayne caught sight of Azalia, he stopped dead in his tracks. For a few moments, he just stared at her, as if disbelieving. Then, his eyes narrowed a bit.

"_You_……"


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"_You_……"

Azalia blinked. _Keep cool,_ she told herself. "Um…have we met?"

Bruce seemed a bit shocked at his own utterance, and blinked himself. He cleared his throat. "…sorry. You looked like someone else. Welcome to Wayne Manor. And your name is?"

She smiled. "Azalia Gabriel. Alfred said you probably wouldn't mind if I stayed here until I can find my own place. Is that okay?"

Wayne looked at the butler, who quickly followed him into the next room. Azalia could hear them talking, or rather, arguing. She couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but she could tell that Bruce wasn't happy about her being there. And poor Alfred was just trying to defend her. She shook her head. She'd known it was a bad idea to go there with Alfred. She should have just gone to a hotel and left Bruce alone. She'd known he wouldn't trust her. And now she'd gotten Alfred in trouble. This was just _not_ her night.

Bruce and Alfred came back into the room, Bruce smiling his infamous smile. "You're very welcome here, Miss Gabriel," he said with the sugar-coated, flattering voice the prominent people always used in public. "Alfred will show you to your room. Make yourself at home. Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks," she replied, matching his smile almost perfectly. "Thanks for letting me stay here, Mr. Wayne. I really appreciate it. And don't worry, I won't be any trouble. You won't even know I'm here." She adjusted her pack on her shoulders and looked at Alfred. The butler started heading up the staircase to the left, but waited for Azalia after a couple of steps.

"Come, Miss Gabriel. I'll show you to your room."

She bounded up the staircase after him, stopping once to steal a glance back at Bruce and give a little wink, then followed Alfred the rest of the way up the flight of steps to a large hallway. She looked around slowly. _This is nothing like it looked back home,_ she thought. _It's amazing here. I mean, the tapestries, the paintings…even the suits of armor are cool!_ She stopped to look at one of the suits, paying particular attention to the ax it held. The weapon was sharpened and shining, looking as if it had just been crafted. The girl nodded to herself, then fell into step behind the butler.

Alfred stopped in front of one of the many doors lining the walls of the hallway and opened it, allowing Azalia to peer inside. "Will this room suffice, Miss Gabriel?"

"Yeah, it's fine…" Azalia dropped her pack by the door and went over to sit down on the soft bed. "He doesn't trust me."

"What makes you say that?"

She sighed deeply. "I can tell. His courtesy was forced. He doesn't want me to stay here."

"Nonsense," the butler insisted as he closed the curtains of the enormous windows. "Surely you can understand if he seems somewhat reserved at first. He's a famous man. When you are as well-known as Master Bruce, it can be hard to know who to trust."

The young woman looked at him, smiling a bit. "I suppose you're right, Alfred. I think I'll be okay. I shouldn't be staying long, either. I don't want to be a burden."

He looked at her, his eyes filled with wisdom and understanding. "You are no burden, Miss. I assure you, it is no trouble. In fact, you may be good for Master Bruce."

She couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Well, we'll see. But for now, is it okay if I have some privacy to get settled in?"

"Of course. If you need anything at all, just let me know." He gave a slight bow and left the room.

When she was sure he was gone, Azalia quickly unpacked the few things she felt comfortable leaving out in the open, changed into a dark uniform, and looked in the mirror. The uniform was a new form of black-grey cloth her dad had created in the future. It featured a form of spandex that was stretchable and form-fitting, while still providing enough armor to shield from attacks; Nomex protection to make it flame-resistant; steel-toed boots for climbing or for more damaging kicks; knuckle pouches packed with lead shot in the gloves for added power when punching; an ankle-length, scalloped cape with weighted tips for offensive purposes; a Kevlar-reinforced, rounded cowl; and a black utility belt that blended in with her uniform. The utility belt included such weapons as gas capsules, a grappling hook and jumpline, a portable rebreather, skeleton keys, night-vision goggles, a first-aid kit, and many other small portable weapons.

At first, she thought she looked stupid. The uniform clung to her figure, showing every curve perfectly. It almost made her self-conscious. But she quickly shook the feeling off and admired it. If her dad could do this—even at his age—she could do this, too. The cowl, she noted, masked her identity perfectly. She hadn't worn it earlier when she'd met up with the League, but now she'd be surprised if they'd even recognize her. Well, sure she was wearing the same costume, but the cowl finished it off. When she looked at herself in it, all her doubt faded, and she felt strong.

"Just like you always told me to be, Dad," she whispered, smiling. "Don't worry. I'll make you proud. I'll save the day. I……I hope."

Azalia went over to the window, opened it, and stepped out onto the balcony, closing the window behind her. She breathed in the cool night air, reveling in the feel of the wind on her face. _Well,_ she thought, _here goes nothing._ She jumped from the balcony, allowing herself to freefall for a few seconds, and then reached into her belt, produced the grappling hook, and shot a line off to a nearby building. Within minutes, she was swinging from building to building, moving through the city with a watchful eye. Soon she landed atop the WayneTech building, crouched low, looking out over the dark streets.

"You again."

She wasn't fazed by Batman's voice behind her. She didn't jump or turn to him as if startled. She just kept scanning the streets. "Good evening, Batman."

"Why are you in my city?" His voice was closer now. Still, Azalia was unfazed.

"I'm staying with Bruce Wayne." She hadn't meant it, but her voice took on an almost harsh tone when she said the name. "But I'm sure you have a problem with this somehow."

Batman grabbed her arm and roughly forced her to her feet, glaring down at her. "I know who you are."

Azalia smirked. "Well that's good. I'd hope the World's Greatest Detective would be able to see through my disguise. But I bet you wouldn't want anyone seeing through yours, _Bruce Wayne_."

He remained calm, as she'd expected. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The fact that you're denying it so calmly proves it. But hey, I can always unmask you…" She reached up toward the bottom of his cowl, but Batman caught her wrist tightly before her hand got there.

"Touch my mask, and you lose your arm."

The young woman easily twisted her wrist out of Batman's grasp, hit a pressure point in his shoulder to render his arm useless, grabbed his other wrist, and grabbed his cowl, all within less than three seconds. But she didn't pull off his cowl. She just stopped there, grinning at him.

"Thought you said I'd lose my arm," she chuckled, letting go of his cowl and wrist. "That would just be too easy. But you--"

She stopped short when she glanced down at the ground. A pair of thugs were chasing a woman through an alley until she stopped at a dead end and turned to them, terrified. Azalia wasted no time; she immediately dove off the roof, using her cape to slow her descent, and landed between the woman and the thugs. As she stood up straight, glaring at the thugs, she reached to the side of her utility belt for a retractable Bo staff.

One of the thugs raised a gun. "Hey, babe, you just walked into--"

Azalia didn't let him finish. Within seconds, she had the Bo staff extended to its longest length, knocked the gun out of his hand, and knocked both of the thugs out. She tied them up quickly and then turned to the woman.

"You okay?"

"I…I'm fine…" the terrified woman stammered. "Who…are you?"

Azalia smiled. "Nightingale. Anything else I can do for you?"

"No…I'll just…get home…" She looked at Nightingale once more, then turned and ran away toward the nearest housing development.

A rustling behind Nightingale signaled Batman's descent from the rooftop. "Get out of my city."

"You'll have to take that one up with Bruce Wayne," she muttered, retracting the Bo staff and hooking it back on her belt, then glancing at him with a raised eyebrow. "Finished talking about it yet?"

She could tell he was getting more annoyed with her every time she brought up his being Bruce Wayne. But she decided not to press the issue too much just then. She pulled out her grappling hook and shot off to the nearest building, lifting herself up to the roof. Did she want to stay out longer and keep vexing Batman? No. She didn't want that, so she shot off another line and was soon on her way back to Wayne Manor.

As she slipped back into her room, she was met by the old butler.

"Out for a late night stroll, Miss Gabriel?"

"…hi, Alfred…I was just…"

He raised a hand to silence her. "No need to explain yourself, Miss Gabriel. I have no doubt that you are perfectly capable of handling yourself, especially with Batman out there. He is one puzzling man."

"You know who he is, Alfred."

The butler blinked. "Excuse me, miss?"

"Look, I know, you don't have to hide it," she said, pushing back her cowl and sitting down on the bed to pull off her boots. "Bruce is the Batman."

"You're quite the analytical young woman, Miss Gabriel."

She smiled a bit. "So I'm right. You're acknowledging that I'm right."

"Think what you will, miss. But for now, I must get back to my cleaning." And with that, the butler left the room.

Sighing deeply, Azalia sat down on the edge of the bed, reached into her pack, and pulled out the photograph of her family Alex had packed for her. On the left was her father, his blue eyes smiling down at baby Azalia as he held her lovingly. Next to him was William, the oldest of the children. Will, with his strong build and his deep black hair, was the striking image of his father but for his soft brown eyes. He had a hand on Alexander's shoulder. The young boy stood in front of his older brother, his sandy blonde hair in his eyes as usual. And finally, on the right, was Philana, the only other girl in the family. She had always had this motherly air about her, although she was the second-born child. She would, however, fight nearly as well as William could against the metas.

"I'll make you all proud," Azalia whispered as a tear fell from her eye and landed on the glass of the picture frame. "I'll save the day, just like you knew I would. I promise, I won't let any of you down……"

She lay down on the bed without changing out of her uniform and fell into a light sleep, dreams of her family filling her head.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"…_thanks, Will…" Azalia said hoarsely, looking up at him._

"Hey, I'm your brother, right?" He smiled, helping her to her feet. "I could never let anything happen to you."

"Maybe you should be more worried about yourself, then, William." As the young man turned toward the voice, he was hit square in the chest with a beam of magical energy. Mordred smiled, shooting more blasts at him, until he fell to the ground, motionless. Azalia's eyes widened as the young sorcerer shot one final magical ray at Will, this one causing him to disappear entirely.

"NO!" Azalia yelled, running to the spot where Will had just been standing. "Will! NO! NO NO NO!"

_When she turned around, Philana was there to comfort her._

"_Philana…they…they killed…"_

"I know, Azalia." She trained the two lasers at the group of metas, her eyes narrowed. "And they're going to pay."

"What can the two of you possibly do?" It was Lady Midnight who spoke up. "You're just humans."

"Is that right?" Philana started to power up the larger laser. "We're 'just humans', is that it? Care to try your luck against me?" She aimed the laser, now nearly at full power, at the young metahuman female as a small smile crept across her face. "Say 'Goodbye'."

"Goodbye." Tigris, a pupil of Cheetah's who was tiger-like rather than cheetah-like, sliced through Philana's back, causing her arm to jerk up as she shot, the beam missing Lady Midnight, and she fell to her knees. The catlike meta then jumped with feline agility over the human, landing in front of her. She licked her lips just before sinking her teeth into Philana's neck, her powerful jaws crushing the spine easily.

"NO! NOOOOO!"

Azalia shot straight up in bed, drenched in cold sweat. Alfred was there at her bedside.

"Are you all right, Miss Gabriel?" the butler asked, genuinely concerned. "You were screaming."

She sighed, covering her face with her hands, and whispered, "I'm fine, Alfred…just a nightmare…"

"Is there anything I can do to help, miss?"

"I'll be all right...I'm used to it. I've had nightmares since I was just a kid."

"Well," Alfred said quietly, setting a glass of water on the small table by the bed, "you and Master Bruce have more in common than either of you realizes."

"You have no idea," she muttered under her breath as she picked up the glass of water and took a small sip. "Thanks, Alfred…thanks. I think I'm okay now…"

"Would you like to talk about it, Miss Gabriel?"

She sighed a bit. Her voice was soft and shaky when she spoke. "…I witnessed my murder of both my older brother and sister before I came here. And years ago, our dad was tortured and murdered while we were forced to watch. I guess you could say death likes to follow me. My nightmares are usually about my dad……but lately they've been more and more about my brother and sister. We were really close……"

"Might you consider speaking to Master Bruce about it?" the butler asked quietly. "I'm sure he would be able to help you cope."

"…I doubt he'd care," the young woman said softly. "But……I guess I'll try. In the morning. Right now I should get some more sleep………"

"As you wish, Miss Gabriel." And with that, Alfred left the room to get some rest, himself.

But Azalia couldn't sleep. The nightmares kept her awake, dreading what would happen the next day. She knew that Bruce…_Batman_ knew who she was, and that he didn't trust her. How on Earth would she get him on her side?

When morning finally came, she got out of bed, changed, and went downstairs. She was about to find Alfred to ask where the gym was so that I could work out, when Bruce cut off her path, a broad—and very cheesy—smile on his face.

"Good morning, Miss Gabriel," he said with that sugar-coated playboy voice. "Did you sleep well?"

"…you could say that," she muttered. "Where's Alfred?"

"He's busy…but he told me you had a nightmare last night."

"……what's it to you?" She realized she was irritable; she hadn't gotten much sleep. But she shouldn't have been taking it out on Bruce. Then again, he _was_ Batman and he _had_ been a jerk to her last night on patrol…

"Well…do you want to talk about it?" His voice shook her from her thoughts. She stared at him in shock. He wanted to talk about it? Not really, Alfred probably talked to him and convinced him to do this…

"It's cool," she replied quietly. "I'm used to it. No big." But her body language obviously said otherwise. Her voice was quiet, her head lowered a bit, her eyes downcast. She knew he'd pick up on these things.

"Talking about it helps, you know. Take it from me. I mean, I don't have them anymore, but when I was younger, I'd talk to Alfred about my nightmares and it made me feel better."

_More lies,_ Azalia thought. _I heard him tossing and turning last night. He must've had a nightmare. Is anything with this man _not_ a lie?_

"I can take care of myself," the young woman replied. "I just need to know if you've got a gym so I can work out…"

"Sure, right this way." Bruce led her down a hallway, past suits of armor and portraits…and stopped at the end of the hall. Opening the door on the left, he led her into a huge gymnasium, filled with state-of-the-art training equipment; treadmills, parallel bars, a pommel horse, a balance beam, rings, and a complete set of weights, among other things. Azalia looked around and smiled.

"Thanks, Mr. Wayne. Now if you don't mind……" She went over to the balance beam and started stretching.

Bruce lingered for a few moments before leaving the young woman alone in the gym. She immediately began a routine on the balance beam.

_Fighting isn't just about power,_ she thought, remembering what her father used to tell her when he trained her as a girl. _It's about grace. The more graceful you are, the more likely you'll catch your opponent off guard. The more fluid your movements, the less likely you are to be hurt. Always remember that._

Her limbs flowed elegantly as she went through the routine. She kept her breathing even and her mind focused. After another ten minutes of working on the balance beam, she did her dismount, landing it perfectly. But she knew she had an audience. Taking a quick glance out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a pair of steel blue eyes looking at her through the crack in the door. She sighed deeply. _Men…_

Moving to the parallel bars, Azalia jumped up and grabbed the first one easily, then worked her shoulders and pectoral muscles to start swinging and began a routine. She moved even more fluidly on the parallel bars than she had on the balance beam, looking as if she was predestined to swing from the two white poles. Her movements were graceful and perfect as she performed flips, spins, twists…she was magnificent.

The young woman exercised in this way for nearly three hours straight. Only when Alfred came in with a tray of food and insisted that she eat something did she take a break. She hadn't wanted to, since she was so behind in her training, but she didn't want to worry Alfred. She sat down on a bench.

"I say, Miss Gabriel," he'd said, "You'll work yourself to death at this rate."

"I'll be fine, Alfred," she assured him with a smile as she started eating the omelet he'd made for her. "I've gone over a week without food before. I guarantee you having a little bit of a late breakfast isn't going to kill me. Thanks for the concern, though."

"I meant the rigorous workout, miss."

"Oh, that? That was nothing. My workout's usually _much_ more insane than that. Lately I've just been…distracted."

"Ah," the butler said, a hint of recognition in his eyes. "I see. Master Bruce often does that to women."

Azalia burst out laughing. "You think I...no! My gosh…that's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a _long_ time. I don't have a crush on Bruce. No…other things have been distracting me."

"Anything you'd like to talk about, Miss Gabriel?"

"I think I'm fine…I just…" She sighed. "It's…complicated. Besides, you wouldn't believe me."

He sat down on the bench next to her, touching her hand gently. "I am quite open-minded, miss. I do work for Master Bruce, after all."

That brought a chuckle from the young woman. "Point taken. I…suppose I could tell you…as long as you _promise_ not to tell him."

"You can trust me, Miss Gabriel. I will tell no one."

Azalia sighed, slowly looking down at the floor. "I'm…from the future. Twenty-five years in the future, to be exact. I came back in time to…stop my timeline from coming about. We live in terror, hunted down by metahumans at every turn. There are no heroes…they were killed early on. Once the Justice League was gone, the others fell quickly. My dad was the last hero to survive…he trained us to fight the metas, but there were only so many of us. Before I came back…both my older brother and sister were murdered in front of me. My brother Alex and I are all that's left…… I have to prevent the destruction of the Justice League. That's why I'm here."

Alfred looked at her silently for a long time. His expression was a thoughtful one as he considered the story she'd told him. Finally, he spoke. "So that's how you knew who Master Bruce was. And…you wish to keep this a secret so events will happen as they were supposed to, and you can more easily prevent their deaths?"

"Right. If they know, they'll do things differently. I need everything to go the same way…so I can destroy the one who is supposed to do this."

"You mentioned that your father trained you. May I ask who he was?"

Azalia looked at him pointedly. "…I think you already know the answer to that."

"…ah. Master Bruce. Now I see why you found it so amusing that I had thought you had feelings for him."

"The fact is, I _do_ have feelings for him," she admitted. "Just…not the feelings you meant. He's my dad…of course I care about him. I just…he doesn't trust me. And I really shouldn't be letting this get in the way of my training. But……"

"You're just like him," the butler said with a small smile. "You work yourself too hard. Don't worry about it, Miss Gabriel."

"Oh…and my real name is Azalia Wayne. But after Dad was killed…my older brother had us change our names to Wayne-Gabriel, with emphasis on the latter. He said…that it was for our protection."

"I see. Well, Miss Wayne…that would make this house as much yours as Master Bruce's. And that would in some ways make you my employer, as well."

"He can't find out. If he does, it's over. He'd never let me stay. He'd think I'm a nut. We just…can't act any different than we have been. I need his help, Alfred. Badly. I know I won't be able to stop this alone."

"…perhaps you could tell him a summary of why you're here?"

"…would he believe me?"

"Oh, of course. No, he would not believe it. Sometimes that man can be so closed-minded…"

"I'll…just have to make him believe me, then," Azalia concluded, standing up. "Thanks for the talk, Alfred." She headed out of the personal gym and started looking around for Bruce. Oddly, he was nowhere to be found. Heading for the grandfather clock in the study, she thought of how she'd begin the conversation. Would she start out simply with small talk? No, it would be best for her to just come out and say it. He wouldn't believe it, but that was the best way to tell him about it.

She realized she's already reached the clock and had just been standing there. Shaking her head, Azalia touched the minute hand and turned it so it pointed at the 12. After a few minutes, the door behind the clock slowly opened, the clock swinging out little by little to reveal a passageway and a long set of stairs leading down into darkness. The young woman entered the aperture, closing the secret door behind her, and started down the stairs.

Before she'd reached the bottom of the staircase, a batarang flew at her. She dodged it easily, going into a forward roll, stopping at the foot of the stairs on her feet in a crouched position. Looking up, she came face to chest with the Batman. He glared down at her, his expression cold and accusing.

"I really hope you don't do that every time Alfred comes down here," the young woman muttered, standing up straight.

"How did you know?" His voice was low, menacing.

"I'm from twenty-five years in the future. I know a lot more about you than you think, Batman. I've been trained in every fighting technique you know, so don't consider attacking."

He regarded her skeptically. "The future. Right. Why are you here?"

"…I can't tell you…"

"Mm-hmm. I want you out."

Azalia blinked. "Fine, I'll go back up to the manor. Sheesh…"

"No. I want you _out_."

"What? You're kicking me out to the street!"

He nodded once.

"I can't believe this…I thought you'd believe me…fine. You're obviously too stubborn to understand anything. When you need help, don't come crying to me. Goodbye."

She stormed back up the stairwell, closed the secret doorway, and headed to her room to pack up the few things she'd managed to unpack. With that done, she flung her pack over her shoulder and headed to the front door.

"Miss Gabriel, what…"

"Sorry, Alfred, but Mr. Wayne doesn't want me to stay…" Azalia sighed. "Thanks for all your help. I'll try to keep in touch…"

The butler had a heartbroken look in his eyes as she said her final goodbye to him, but he remained professional. His eyes were all that gave him away. Azalia hugged him tightly.

"I'm glad I could meet you, Alfred…glad at least someone else knows why I'm here……"

"You don't have to leave, miss," he replied, gently embracing her. "I will talk to Master Bruce. You don't have to leave."

She shook her head. "I have to…I'll be okay. I can handle myself…goodbye…"

With that, she headed out the door into the early afternoon air. Right when she stepped outside, it started raining.

"Perfect," she muttered, sighing and heading down the road toward Gotham City. "Just perfect…"


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Azalia was soaked by the time she reached a decent motel and checked in. She went to her room, locked the door, and got changed. Then she turned on the TV. What was she going to do? Everything was falling apart…she was _terrible_ at this. She couldn't come up with plans like her brother Alex could…

With a sigh, she focused on the news. There wasn't much happening…some politician with some trivial problem, issues with some court case…she sighed again. The things they were worried about—the things they called news—were so insignificant it wasn't even funny. Turning off the television, she just stared at the blank screen.

For a moment, she lost all sense of time. She went back to training with her dad…the amazing way he taught her…

"_Come on, Azalia, we've done this a million times," he said, sighing. "Let's try again. Restart the problem and use dimensional analysis."_

"_Dad, this is pointless," Azalia muttered. "Why do I need to know this chemistry stuff? _

"_Education is important. I was raised going to school. Since you can't, I'm home schooling you. When things get better…when we're not running all the time…I want you to be an intelligent young woman. I want you to be ahead of the game, ready for a normal life. And I'd like it if you could become a detective, like I used to be."_

"_But, Dad…"_

"_Things _will_ get better, Azalia. We'll beat the metahumans and make the world a better place. Trust me, honey. Now please try to understand this. It's important to me."_

_Azalia sighed a bit. "Yes, Dad." With that, she got back to the problem she was on…_

Azalia blinked, realizing she was still staring at the blank television screen. She shook her head and looked from the screen to her bag. She reached inside and slowly pulled out a smaller bag, which she just stared at for a few minutes. It was a small, plain bag with a single zippered opening, pulled shut at the moment. It didn't seem like so much, and only held scraps of paper, so she didn't quite understand why it was so important. But she did know that, for some reason, in this time those pieces of paper held power. She had a vague memory of a time when people used money, back when her dad was still alive. He'd been rich…and because of that, he'd had power in society.

Opening the little bag, she pulled out the pieces of paper colored in green. She started counting it out slowly, handling each bill as if it was the most fragile piece of crystal. One-hundred, two-hundred, three-hundred…by the time she finished, she'd come up with a total of ten-thousand dollars and a few small coins she wasn't sure how to count. Ten-thousand dollars…that was all the money they'd had left from their dad's fortune. She sighed, knowing most of the money would end up paying for the hotel room, depending on how long she stayed there.

She'd have to get a job, she decided. A job, to earn money to support herself. She'd need to buy food and pay for services such as laundry and for the hotel room. It seemed strange, for her to be so worried about trivial things like laundry, but she had to at least _pretend_ to be normal.

Azalia glanced at a newspaper that just happened to have a front page story about Batman. She shook her head. As much as she wanted to, she knew she couldn't stay in Gotham City. She'd end up having too many confrontations with Batman. So, she had to find a new place to stay.

Over the next few months, Azalia moved around a few times. Between Middleton, Colorado; New York, New York; Keystone City, Kansas; and a trip or two back to Gotham; she kept track of the members of the Justice League and watched their exploits. But soon, a day was coming when she would have to show herself again.

As summer rolled around, she knew the day pivotal to her success was approaching. She spent $3,000 on a plane ticket to Germany and was soon on a ten hour flight to Berlin. Pulling out her red, leather-bound book, she started reading again. If one would have looked over her shoulder at the book, they would have seen that it was a journal. The page she was reading was, oddly, dated for the following day. If she had not been from the future, it would have made less sense. She read the journal entry intently, preparing for the battle that would come when she arrived in Germany. Azalia had to be prepared…to change history.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Azalia arrived in Berlin, Germany and headed to the train station and took the Trans-European Express until she was near the Black Forest. She got off the train with knapsack in hand, rushed into the woods, and quickly took off her sweatshirt and jeans, revealing a spandex outfit. It was a mix of dark blues and violets, with a blue harness like the Martian Manhunter's; a blue mask like that of the Flash, but without the earpieces; boots like Wonder Woman's, but blue; and a utility belt colored to match her uniform. She also pulled out of the sack a collapsible crossbow and a small quiver full of arrows to fit the weapon.

Nightengale, as Azalia called her heroine identity, stood for a moment, making sure everything was in place, and then ran toward the Black Forest. She stopped dead in her tracks when she reached the edge of it. The sounds of creaking trees and shouting could be heard. A deep German voice rang out above the rest of the voices, shouting ancient spells in some long-dead language.

Nightengale steeled herself for the fight to come. She knew what was supposed to happen, but with all of the Leaguers still alive some things would change. She took this into account and took a deep breath before running into the Black Forest.

As she came upon the battle, she was met by giant tree-men and rabid wolves, at least double the size of normal wolves, fighting the members of the Justice League. Instinctively, she rushed into the fray, dashing to Green Lantern's side to fight with him. He didn't seem to notice right away, which didn't bother her much. She pulled out a flare from her utility belt and dove at one of the tree-creatures, lighting its bark on fire. The flames climbed up the trunk of the tree until it fell over, engulfed in the blaze. She glanced over at Green Lantern, and then ran over to hold off a wolf.

Nightengale barely managed to dodge Superman as he was thrown to the ground where she had been standing. The Man of Steel climbed to his feet, wiping blood from his mouth.

"I hate magic," he muttered, getting ready to rejoin the battle.

"Stop worrying about the monsters," Nightengale said, helping him stand. "Go after the source of the problem. If you take out the Black Magician, the monsters disappear."

Superman looked at her in surprise for a moment. But as he looked back toward his teammates fighting the Magician's monsters, Nightengale knew he wasn't going to question her…yet.

"I can't get near him," he confessed. "Those monsters are surrounding him, protecting him."

"I'll cover you. And use this." She reached into her utility belt, pulled out a small device, and clipped it onto the front of Superman's uniform. "Just press this button and an invisible shield will go up around you. But it's only temporary. You'll have maybe a minute, tops. I'll cover you as best as I can."

"How will you be able to see me?"

Nightengale tapped the side of her cowl. "Infrared lenses. With superspeed and the invisibility shield, you should be able to get past the mutations without much incident. But just to be sure, I'll draw the Magician's attention away from you."

The Man of Steel nodded. He readied himself, looking toward the Black Magician. "Who are you?"

"The name's Nightengale. Give me a few minutes. I'll give you a signal when I'm ready."

She ran into the battle, using flares to keep the monsters at bay. But she knew it wouldn't hold them off for long. Thinking quickly, she pulled her crossbow from its holster on her belt and loaded it with a few small arrows as she continued to run, passing by Plastic Man who had wound himself around one of the tree creatures. She aimed and took a shot at the Black Magician, but missed narrowly. His head shot around toward her and he yelled in the ancient language he used to control his mutations.

Nightengale dodged the huge wooden hand of one of the gigantic tree-creatures, coming so close that she could see the insects crawling on the bark, and aimed her crossbow at the Magician again. Just as the arrow was leaving the weapon, one of the mutated wolves attacked, sinking its fangs into her arm and throwing off her aim. The arrow flew at the Black Magician and sliced through his arm, catching him off guard. As Nightengale struggled with the wolf, its teeth ripping through her muscle and grinding against her bone, she saw a streak of red fly at the Magician and slam into him, knocking him off balance. He fell back, unconscious. Superman became visible standing over him.

Within minutes, the tree-creatures were shrinking back down into normal trees. The wolves returned to their normal sizes and shapes, running away from the Leaguers and whimpering. Nightengale stood up, cradling her bleeding arm, and smiled at Superman. She walked over to him as he restrained the Black Magician.

"I told you it would work," she said with a smile. "Nice job. Thanks for trusting me."

The Man of Steel looked at her arm. "You're hurt."

"I'm fine, really. I've survived worse." She looked at her arm as it started healing, a slight greenish glow surrounding the wound. Superman watched in shock as new muscle formed and was quickly covered up by fresh skin.

"You're a healer," he said slowly. "Remarkable. And you're a great strategist, too. Where do you come from?"

"I don't really live anywhere in particular. I just sort of go where destiny takes me."

"Don't you have any family?" It was Green Lantern who had flown over and landed next to Superman, looking at the young heroine.

Nightengale looked at him. "My siblings are dead, I have no idea what happened to my mom, and my dad doesn't know I exist. So no, I guess I don't have any family. But it's cool. I can take care of myself."

"How about we let her try out for the League?" Flash asked, speeding over and nudging Lantern slightly. "I mean, she's got skills. She's almost better than Batman."

That drew a glare from the Dark Knight. "She'll spar with me for her entrance test."

"She's just a kid, Batman," Superman argued. "She should be trying out for the Titans if she--"

"She's been following _us_, or haven't you noticed? She obviously thinks she's good enough to join the Justice League. Let her try."

"If she's going to try out, let her take the regular entrance test. Sparring with you isn't--"

"I can handle it." Nightengale crouched down into a defensive fighting stance and looked at Batman. "Let's go."

Just as Batman was getting into a fighting stance as well, Wonder Woman stepped in between the two of them. "I suggest we all return to the Watchtower and discuss this civilly."

"I agree," Superman said. "Now…Nightengale was it? Come up to the Watchtower with us and we'll figure things out."

Slowly, Nightengale stood up straight, eyeing Batman warily and nodding. "All right. That is, as long as you don't mind me being up there."

Soon, the Justice League and Nightengale were up at the Watchtower. The teenage hero was looking around in awe at the place. It was even better than her dad had told her…it was amazing. Just being up there, in space, was remarkable.

"Just wait here for a bit, and someone will come tell you what's happening," Green Lantern said as he took Nightengale to a room with a table and a few chairs. "And trust me, I'm pretty sure you'll make it in. You're an amazing kid." He smiled, then headed out of the room.

After she was sure he was gone, Nightengale opened her knapsack and pulled out the red leather-bound journal she was always looking at. She opened it to an early page and read for about fifteen minutes before the door opened again and Green Lantern came back. She put the journal away and looked at him.

"I'll show you to the meeting room," he said, smiling sincerely. "You'll have an interview first off, and we'll decide what's happening after that."

He led her down the hall, passing different hallways, one of which led to what she assumed was the trophy room, one to the armory… Finally they reached the meeting room and he opened the door for her.

"Good luck," he said softly as she stepped inside.

In the meeting room, the Martian Manhunter was seated at a table bearing the Justice League of America symbol. The Martian was facing the door.

"Please have a seat, Nightengale," he said calmly. The teenage hero sat down across the table from him, looking at him curiously. He continued, his fingers steepled in front of him casually. "The majority of us believe that you 'have what it takes' to join the Justice League. However, a…select few of us don't trust you and believe that you should go through extensive entrance testing. We've come to an agreement that you shall have an interview first and decide where to go on from there."

"All right," she replied, shrugging. "No problem. Let's start the interview, then."

The Martian smiled a bit. "Of course. First off, state your full name, please."

Nightengale blinked. "…you don't ask any other recruits that."

"You're right. We don't ask other recruits their civilian names. But, as I've said, there are a few of us who don't trust you. I merely wish to assess your sincerity."

The teenager looked disgruntled for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Azalia Gabriel."

"No middle name?"

"No middle name."

"All right." The Martian Manhunter wrote something down on a sheet of paper Nightengale hadn't noticed before. "What made you want to become a hero?"

"Well, my dad was a superhero." The words left her mouth before she even realized it. Nightengale looked at the Martian, a hint of uneasiness crossing her face.

"Your father was a hero. Who was he?"

She looked uneasy again, then responded softly. "I watched him die. It's a difficult subject for me to talk about."

"Understood," the Martian said, his expression softening a bit. "Let's just move on...what makes you think you deserve to be on this team?"

"Well, I've been trained in dozens of styles of martial arts. I'm also a healer. I can heal myself and other people to an extent. It takes a lot out of me to heal others, though. It depends on how hurt they are."

He nodded and wrote on his sheet of paper, then looked at her again.

"Would you be willing to risk your life to protect the world and its people?"

"Of course I would," Nightengale replied. "That's the reason I came to the past. To protect the world."


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The Martian asked her a few more questions before leaving Nightengale alone in the room. She waited patiently, looking around the room, trying to find something to focus her attention on. After about five minutes, she looked up when the door opened. Batman was standing in the doorway. She opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off, saying only three words.

"Training room. _Now_." And then he walked out of the room.

Nightengale was at a loss. Should she follow him to the training room? Was this some sort of test? She decided to be safe and follow him to the training room. When she reached her destination, she looked around curiously. It was dark…what was going on? Was Batman playing around with her? Trying to get her into troub—

She suddenly ducked down and held up her left arm to block, barely deflecting the round-house kick that was aimed directly for her head. Nightengale knew what was coming. She did a back flip to avoid the left hook coming at her, then kicked up to stop the knee aimed for her face. Batman obviously wanted to spar with her, regardless of what the rest of the League said.

Rather than being on the defensive the entire time, the young heroine decided to take the offensive. She pressed a button on the side of her cowl to activate night-vision lenses and threw a punch at Batman's face, following up with a spinning kick when he blocked her fist. Her foot caught him in the thigh, causing him to lose his balance a bit. Nightengale took this opportunity to deliver a palm strike to his side, bruising a few ribs. But Batman didn't falter, his elbow driving into her left arm at a pressure point, rendering it useless as it fell to her side.

The young heroine backed up quickly, watching her opponent. She was hoping she would regain the use of her arm before he attacked again, but she didn't count on it. There was a good chance that he would take advantage of her weakened state. Sure enough, he jumped into the air and landed a well-placed kick to her left knee, sending her down to that knee.

But Nightengale wasn't about to give up. She brought up her right arm to block the next blow aimed for her neck, then a punch aimed for her face, then a kick aimed for the side of her head. She soon regained feeling in her left arm and delivered a fierce blow to his upper gut, at the base of his ribcage. He staggered back a few steps, giving Nightengale time to stand. She didn't waste the precious time she'd gained, diving at Batman's legs, knocking him to the ground. But before she could throw another punch, his heel connected with her jaw, causing a loud crack as her jaw snapped. Stars exploded in her vision as she flew back, her back slamming into the ground, and she stayed down.

Batman knelt next to her head, the white lenses of his eyes cold and menacing.

"And you think you're good enough to join the Justice League. Hmph."

With that, he stood up and walked toward the door. Superman opened the door just as Batman reached it.

"What do you think you're _doing_?" the Man of Steel demanded.

"Testing her."

Superman looked over at Nightengale, then back at Batman. "You and I are going to talk later, Batman." He then walked over, knelt next to Nightengale, and helped her up. "Are you all right?"

"…yeah…just dizzy…" the young heroine replied, wincing as her hand went to her jaw. "I'm cool…"

"Your jaw's broken," Diana said, walking over and touching the girl's jaw gently. "We should get you to the medbay."

Nightengale held up her hand and shook her head. The Leaguers, who had all gathered into the entrance to the training room, all watched in astonishment as her broken jaw snapped back into place on its own and the bruises faded.

"Wow," Green Lantern said, a grin sneaking onto his face. "That's awesome."

"Yeah," Nightengale replied, smiling a bit. "But it hurts like heck."

"Well…let's take a vote," Superman said. "We all saw how well she fought. All in favor of Nightengale joining the League, raise your hands."

Everyone raised their hands…except for Batman.

"All opposed?" the Man of Steel asked, as a formality only. Batman raised his hand, glaring daggers at the young heroine. "Well, that settles it. On a vote of seven to one, welcome to the Justice League, Nightengale."


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Hey, readers! I was looking through some old word documents and found that I had another chapter of this story that I'd never uploaded. On the off chance that anyone's still waiting for more chapters of this story, I decided to upload this one. I still have notes for this fic stashed away somewhere, so I can definitely continue working on it if people are interested in that. But I can't promise frequent updates, since I'm working on another fic at the moment and I'm currently attending graduate school, which takes up a lot of time. However, if I get enough reviews asking for more, I'll definitely work on this fic some more.

Without further ado, here's the next chapter!

**Chapter 7**

Over the next six months, Nightingale became fast friends with many of the members of the Justice League of America. She'd grown especially close to the younger, more easy-going members of the team: Green Lantern, Flash, and Plastic Man. She spent almost all of her free time with them, working out in the training room, exploring the Watchtower, and just hanging out and learning what it means to really have fun. That was something she hadn't been allowed in the future, when her time was spent running and fighting.

One day, she was hanging out with Green Lantern in the mess hall.

"That's so _good_!" Nightingale laughed, looking at the cartoon Lantern had just created with his ring: a comical picture of Batman sticking out his tongue while trying to be scary. "You're amazing, Kyle! I've never seen anything so funny!"

Lantern laughed in return. "What can I say? I'm an artist and League meetings bore me. Gotta find _something_ to do, right?"

"True. I didn't know you could do things like that with a power ring." Nightingale reached into a slot in her utility belt and pulled out a Green Lantern ring, holding it carefully, as if it was made of glass. "Dad taught me that it was a weapon. He never mentioned that it could be used for anything other than that."

"You have a power ring? Does that mean you're-"

"No. My dad gave it to me. It was yours from the future, actually. But I guess it was deactivated. Dad told me that when the Guardians didn't get it back from us, they'd have deactivated it. It'd be pretty cool if it _did_ work, though."

"Have you ever tried it?"

"Not really, I-"

"_There_ you are." Superman was standing in the doorway, his fists resting firmly on his hips and a smile on his face. "I've got a job for you two."

"Like a mission?" Nightingale asked, slipping the ring back into its slot.

"A small one." The Man of Steel walked over and handed Lantern a file. "That's what J'onn's gathered in the past hour. Some sort of riot broke out at the foot of the Appalachians in New York. The authorities are having trouble and have called for assistance."

"C'mon, Supes," Kyle interrupted. "Send Plastic Man on this! It's going to be boring!"

"Plastic Man is busy. And before you ask, so is everyone else. I'm actually on my way back to Metropolis right now; Parasite broke out of prison again. You can both handle this. It shouldn't take too long. Just put down the riot and you'll be back here before you know it."

Lantern sighed. "Right you are, chief." The sarcasm was obvious in his voice. "We'll head right down there. C'mon, Nightingale." With that, the two of them headed to the docking bay.

"Aren't we taking the teleporters?" Nightingale asked as Kyle led her to the hatch leading out into space.

"No. You said you thought the ring could only be used as a weapon, right? Well, I'm going to show you how else I can use it."

A beam of green energy shot out from the ring on Kyle's middle finger and then, as it hit Nightingale, covered her with a protective aura. The same sort of shield covered Kyle and he smiled, opening the airlock. At first, Nightingale was petrified, although she tried to hide it. But when she realized she could breathe, she looked at Kyle.

"The ring can protect us? Cool. But how is there enough oxygen in here? I mean, how do we keep from using it all up?"

"Cool thing about the ring," he replied, grinning. "It recycles carbon dioxide we exhale into new oxygen. Sweet, huh?"

"Very. Well, let's go!"

Kyle nodded and with a thought, the two of them lifted off the ground and flew out into the vacuum of space. Nightingale knew she shouldn't logically be able to do this, and that knowledge along with the slight bit of fear about being in space with only Kyle's thoughts as protection sent a rush of adrenaline through her.

"So what happens if you lose concentration?" Nightingale asked curiously, trying to sound nonchalant.

"I've been doing this long enough that it's pretty hard to break my concentration," Lantern replied with a smile. "Heck, I can usually keep a shield up when I'm unconscious, too. Subconscious willpower."

"Cool. Y'know what would be great? It would be cool if after we get back from this mission, you helped me try out my ring and see if it works. And if it _does_, you could teach me how to use it. Wouldn't that rock?"

"Hey, that could be pretty awesome. We could try it. For all we know, the ring might still work."

They started flying faster toward Earth, and Nightingale concentrated on the mission. She'd probably have to hold back, since they were going to be dealing with just civilians. She was mostly used to fighting metahumans, especially in the future, when her life was in danger; normally, she would go all-out in a fight and cause as much damage as possible in order to avoid any injuries of her own. She'd have to be careful not to hurt any of these civilians too badly, or there could be problems. She didn't want to kill any of them, after all. Within minutes, they'd reached the Appalachians and touched down on a ledge a few hundred feet above where the rioters were attacking police officers.

"They all look like they're armed with weapons," Kyle said, assessing the situation. "Chains, bats, knives…typical gang stuff. We'll be heavily outnumbered, but it doesn't look like it'll be too bad."

"You look uneasy, though," Nightingale observed.

"I just have a bad feeling, that's all. You know, one of those feelings in your gut like something bad's going to happen? That kind of feeling."

"Hey, it'll be cool, Kyle. What good are bats and knives against us? I mean, you've got the most powerful weapon in the universe on your finger! We'll tear these guys apart!"

Green Lantern smiled. "Can't dampen your optimism, huh? Well, let's go then. But stay close. We don't know what these guys can do yet."

Kyle used his ring to lower the two of them down to ground level and Nightingale jumped right into the fight, taking out two thugs instantly with ease. She waited for Green Lantern to land next to her and to join in the fray, then continued her attack. The first few minutes of the fight were invigorating. Adrenaline rushed through Nightingale's veins, making it easy for her to take out her enemies with powerful hits driven by excitement. Once the rush died down, she concentrated, using her honed skills to drop her opponents with well-placed one- or two-hit knock-outs. After half an hour had passed and nearly half of the brutes had been knocked out, the two heroes were still fighting hard against the remainder of the gang members.

"I don't know how much longer we can keep this up, Nightingale," Kyle called over the comm link. "I've tried contacting the others for backup, but something's wrong with the comms. I can't send any outgoing messages. I think we should back off, wait for the others to come."

"Oh, come on, Lantern!" she replied, knocking out another challenger. "We can take 'em! They're just thugs! We've got half of 'em down; we can do this!"

Nightingale didn't realize that she'd been drifting farther and farther away from Green Lantern as they fought. If she'd been closer, or even if she'd just looked across the field, she might have been able to prevent what happened next. She'd have seen Green Lantern receive a hard blow to the back of his head. As he fell forward, the thug holding the large steel bat would have come into view. She would have seen the blood, flesh, and skull fragments clinging to the widest end of the bat, would have seen the blood pooling around Kyle's body as the thug reached down and took his ring and visor. She would have been able to stop the brute from covering the lifeless Lantern's body with heavy boulders. She probably would have been able to heal him enough to save his life.

But Nightingale was still caught up in the fight when all this happened. She didn't notice that Kyle had fallen, and didn't even think to check up on him. He was, after all, a professional hero; he could handle himself, she reasoned. To be completely honest, Nightingale was focused more on the distinct tattoo each of the thugs had on his arm or chest, always in plain view: the symbol of a red cape, burning away amidst harsh flames. She knew that there must be some meaning behind that emblem, but couldn't quite figure it out while still trying to fight.

The fighting lasted for only a few more minutes and, inevitably, Nightingale began to tire. As her energy waned, her technique got sloppy, and one of the thugs managed to land a hard punch to her left temple. She collapsed, groaning, not quite unconscious but temporarily paralyzed and disoriented from the blow.

"Let's get our guys out of here," one of the thugs said, picking up a couple of his unconscious comrades. He held up an item, but all Nightingale could make out was a green blur in his equally blurry hand. "We got what we came for, and the girl's knocked out, so let's get while we still can."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," another rioter said. "Let's go."

The remaining conscious gang members gathered up their fallen companions and disappeared from Nightingale's field of vision. Some minutes later, she finally climbed to her feet, shaking her head slightly. She looked around.

"Some fight, huh, Kyle?"

There was no answer.

"Kyle? Dude, where are you?"

Beginning to grow anxious, Nightingale searched the area for any sign of her teammate. Her stomach knotted up and she felt faint as she noticed a green glove sticking out from beneath a pile of rubble. She ran over and began digging through the rocks frantically. When she finally had the body free from the debris, she paled, looking at the blood coating her gloves and the ground around her.

"…oh, God…Kyle…"

**A/N: **Yeah, cliffhanger. I do those a lot. Read and review, please! I love reviews; constructive criticism, especially! If there's enough interest still around for this fic, I'll continue, but I can't know you're interested if you don't review!


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